BY JIM HALL
Two medical workers set out for duty at Mary Washington Hospital early Sunday in the back of a Virginia Army National Guard vehicle.
Because of an accident, they completed the trip in the back of an ambulance.
The hospital workers were injured about 5 a.m. when the National Guard Humvee in which they were riding left the snowy highway and struck a tree. The accident occurred on Harrison Road in Spotsylvania County.
Two National Guardsmen, including the driver, were in the front of the Humvee, said Corinne Geller, spokeswoman for the state police.
The hospital workers, one male and one female, were unbelted on a bench in the back of the vehicle.
The hospital workers and the National Guardsman in the passenger seat were taken by ambulance to Mary Washington with non-life-threatening injuries, Geller said.
Geller said she did not know the names of the National Guardsmen, the names or occupations of the hospital workers or the nature of their injuries.
A National Guard unit was in the area this weekend to transport hospital workers who couldn't get out of their homes because of the snow.
Meanwhile, the hospital weathered the weekend storm with minor disruptions, officials said.
The hospital did not lose power and did not see a jump in admissions or visits to the emergency room, said Kevin Van Renan, senior vice president.
Staff members came to work Friday prepared to stay the weekend, Van Renan said. Sleeping areas were designated throughout the hospital, and more than 100 workers stayed Friday and Saturday nights.
The hospital also arranged for the delivery of extra supplies before the snowstorm arrived.
"We were well-stocked throughout the weekend," Van Renan said.
The hospital's census of patients stayed at 320 to 350 this weekend, normal for this time of year.
"A surprising number of visitors continued to come in to see family members or friends throughout the weekend," Van Renan said.
Jim Hall: 540/374-5433
Email: jhall@freelancestar.com
Fredericksburg Rescue Squad used volunteer shovelers and its new Ford F-250 utility vehicle to help get patients through the snow.
Crews of four people staffed the utility vehicle last weekend and accompanied ambulance crews on all calls.
The shovelers cleared steps and sidewalks while the ambulance crews were inside homes tending to patients, said Molly Gayle, captain.
On Saturday night in Mayfield, the utility vehicle crew hooked a chain to the ambulance and freed it from the snow.
On another call at the Heritage Park apartments, residents also helped dig a path so a patient could be carried to the ambulance.
In all, about 20 to 25 squad members volunteered for duty each day of the storm, Gayle said.
--Jim Hall